Strength in diversity

Written by Robin Giese

August 21, 2017

The technology industry is a wonderful industry to be a part of, offering opportunities to work and travel all over the world. As technology professionals, we benefit and grow from a highly diverse workforce.

Throughout my career, one of the most positive experiences I have had is in the running of diverse and inclusive teams, be it of gender, culture, orientation, or personality types. In doing so, my teams delivered outcomes that were quantifiably better than they would have been without the diversity of people, perspectives, and preferences.

It is with deep disappointment that I witnessed the spectacle that unfolded in the global software community over the last few weeks: the now-infamous Google anti-diversity manifesto. I must admit that I’m somewhat at a loss for words because the memo is so against everything I believe in or stand for that it’s hard to know where to start.

An inclusive working environment remains deeply important – not just to me but to the whole of Buddy.

By some measures, we are doing well – we’re accepting of many personality types, working styles, working hours, and so on. By other measures, we can do better and we are committed to continual improvement as we grow. To underline our commitment to diversity, last week we issued a note to our Buddy team inviting them all to share ideas and to speak up if they see areas for improvement.

I respect each and every one of my colleagues at Buddy and feel lucky to have the opportunity to work with this team, including and especially for all the different views and traits our people bring to the company.